The instant invention is directed to an improved dump bucket assembly for use with skid drive loaders.
In construction work involving buildings, parking lots, and other small jobs, the use of skid drive loaders and power buggies is common due to their size, versatility and relative low cost. In substantially all of these projects skid drive loaders are essential for moving, stacking, and loading materials as well as scraping and trenching.
Jobs which include pouring of concrete usually involve hand pushed dump buckets or dump buckets mounted on power buggies. Either arrangement is not completely satisfactory due to the high cost of labor or the high cost of the powered dump bucket which has limited functional use. This problem is intensified as concrete is poured sporadically which creates periods of idle time for men and or equipment.
Attempts have been made to overcome this problem by providing attachments for connecting with the skid steer loader, thus eliminating the cost of additional equipment and gaining maximum use of equipment on hand.
Because the skid steer loader possesses flexibility and power and because it is an essential piece of equipment, numerous attachments, in addition to its primary lifting attachment, have already been developed. Among these attachments is a bucket chute, a cable plow, a dozer, a roller, a tiller, a trencher, and a mixer. Each of these attachments include one common feature, that is they function with a single power source, i.e., the loader. In instances where the lift arms support the attachment, such as with the mixer and the bucket, their weight capacity is limited to less than the weight which would cause the loader to tilt forwardly.
The average skid steer loader weighs about 4,500 pounds and has an average capacity of 1,250 pounds.
It is an object of this invention to provide a dump bucket attachment for a skid steer front end loader capable of carrying up to eight times the normal load capacity of the loader.
Another object of the invention is to provide a dump bucket attachment assembly specifically designed to transport concrete.
Another object of the invention is to provide a dump bucket assembly capable of being positioned in a work position and a raised transport position.
Another object of the invention is a dump bucket assembly having a hydraulic system actuated by the hydraulic system of the loader.
Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment assembly which functions to maximize the work potential of a skid steer loader.